Cleat cleaners



Dec. 31, 1957 w. B. JOHNS 2,817,863

CLEAT CLEANERS Filed Nov. 1a. 1955 INVENTOR W/LL/AM sleao/vz Ja /v5 ATTORNEY United States Patent "6 CLEAT CLEANERS William Brooke J ohns,- Rockville, Md. Xpplicatibn November-18"; 1955;.SriYNb. 547,722

7 Claims (Cl. 15-105) This invention relates-to means forcleaning mud and dirt fi'o'm cleated or spikedgo'lfshoes' andthe'dike, and aims to provide-adevice for easily and quicklyremoving mud and dirt from suchspiked or-cl'eated shoes;

Particular ohjects' of theinvention; severallyand 'iht'en dependently, are to provide an efiicient tool for the pur posedescribed; onethat automatically guides itself into embracing relation to the cleats; one that isguidedby thecleats-of any'one row on the shoe sole to pass' between the rows of cleats without interference therefrom; one that is adapted for the cleaning of cleated' shoe soles having conventional removable cleats i'rrcspective of' the arrangement and spacing of such cleats; one that may also emb'ody means for removing mud from the edges and welt grooves of the 'shoes without interfering with its principal I cleat cleaning function; and one that is of simple and" economical construction and readily adapte'd tobe carried iii-the golf bag orpock'et;

The invention resides in the novel cleatcl'eaning tool and" in thenew and useful features thereof; as" described in' connection with an illustrative embodiment herein, .and is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims;

In the accompanying drawings of an illustrative" embodiment ofthe invention:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a to'olernbodying-theiinvention, shown applied'to thesole of a cleated shoe (in dicated' diagrammatically) having a plurality' of" rows' of detachable cleats-thereon.

Fig. 2"is-aside elevation of the tool of Fig." 1''.

Fig. 3' is a view similar to Fig; 1 showing use of'said tool with a shoe having more widely spaced cleats.

Fig. 4' is a similar view showing use of said tool with a shoe having closely spaced cleats and illustrating the mode in' which the tool is guided or' side slipped in its travel by cooperation with-the'cleats, and

Fig. S-is a perspective view of said'to'oll As diagrammatically indicated in Figs. 1, 3, and"4, the shoes worn by golfersand also'in certain othersports'are generally-provided with removable and replaceable spikes or cleats C having tangs or p'ointsl'tl' thereon; Such cleats are usually secured in the sole 11. of the shoe by threaded shanks 12 screwed into sockets therein, as indicated in Fig. l, in which the sole 11 is sectioned to show one of such threaded connections. The cleats C are provided with a tapered flange 13 that is usually'provided with one or more wrench openings 14 to enable the cleat to be tightened inthe shoe sole or removedttherefrom;

In the usual golf cleat, the flange has a diameter of approximately of an inch, is about ofan inch thick, and is tapered about & of an inch from its connection with the cleat spike 10 to its margin. The cleat spike 10 extends, when new, about 1 of an inch from the face of the flange and is tapered from a shoulder a, about A of an inch in diameter, to a tip 10b, about $5 of an inch in diameter. Normally the sockets in the shoe sole are arranged in three rows and are spaced approximately 1 inches on-center.

2,817,863 Patented Dec. 31, 1957 Especiallyin the game of golf, in' which the player frequently travels over muddyfairways and into muddy or swampy areasofi the fairways, large quantities of sticky mud adhere to*the cleats C and the shoe sole 11, frequentlybuilding up' to a depthnea-rly approaching that of cleats themselves. These clods hamper the golfer in his movements and add to themental hazards of the game; Further, when a'golfer' stopsbefore making a shot and attempts to scrape" the mud'loose from his shoes withta pocket knife or stick, he finds this a tedious and time consuming procedure; and either does a poor job in an effort not' to delay the-game, that leaves him. mentally disgruntled; or' becomes irritated in trying to do a good job'in a minimum of time; In either event his mind' is distracted from 'the' making of the shot, frequently cause iiig his game tosulfer.

In. accordance with the" present invention, a tool is provided preferably having a sheetmetal blade B, pref erablyt formed of stainless steel or the like, that is provided' withi-a centralnotchlfi and with two half notches 17 and 18, the central notch being shaped toconform to and loosely embrace the tank: 10" of a cleat, and the half notches 17 and 18' each being formed to conform to onersidetface' and the-tip. 10b of acleat. Thenotches and half notches aremutually'spaced along the scraping end of the tool by distances conforming'with the minimum on-center spacing of cleats attached to the sporting shoes-:concerned,amounting to'approximately 1 inches on-center spacing'inthe case of golf shoes. Beyond the notches l6 and half notches 17, 18, and between them, the e'dges'19 =and-20of the blade B are r-oof shaped at angles. substantially conforming. to the flange angles of the cleats, asshown. Outwardly of the half notches 17 and 18: the blade: may beprovided with edges21 and 22 aligned with the end of the notch 16, and these-edges may terrninatein' roundedtips'23, 24-from which curved edges 26xlead to the base or root portion of the tool. The tips 23- and 24 may project approximately-% of an inch from-the half notches 1-7 and 18 and approximately /s of. an'inch from the sides of the root portion of the tool 27 and 28;

Suitable handle means H may be attached to the root portion of the tool. In the'preferred form, in which the entire tool and handle means is stamped and bent from a single piece of 'sheetmetal, the handle H comprises a rectangular metal. portion 30 extending at right angles from the blade portion-B, and has its remote end reversely curved to form a finger grip portion 31.

In the useofthe preferred embodiment, the operator places the tips of hisfingers in the finger grip portion 31* andgrips'the curved end of the handle between them and the thumb, or" betweenthem and the base of the thumb. He then places the beveled ends 19 and 20 0f the blade B against the sole of the shoe and draws it through thecleats,,pressing it firmly toward the shoe sole.

. As shown in Fig. 4,. if the notch 16 does not directly align. with the tang 10 of a cleat C, the roof shaped edge 19 or 20 engaging a beveled flange 13, and being pressed toward the sole of the shoe as it is drawn along, slides sideways along the'bevel of the flange, as indicated by the Y arrow in Fig. 4, and thus automatically moves the notch l6=intoalignmentwith the'tank 10 of the cleat C. With normal spacing of the cleats, as shown in Fig. 1, the'notch 16- and adjacent. roof shapedsurfaces quickly and easily align themselves with the surfaces of the cleat C, while the half notches and adjacent surfaces align themselves with the surfaces of the cleat C, while the half notches and adjacent surfaces align themselves with the surfaces of the next adjacent cleat, respectively. Thus a quick drawing of the tool three times through the three rows of cleats arranged as in Fig. l, with its notch 16 aligning with a ditferent row each time, removes the bulk of the mud therefrom, while further drawings of the tool at right angles to the direction shown in Fig. 1 complete the mud removing operation. When the cleats C are more widely spaced, nevertheless the drawing of the tool through the three rows of cleats with the notch 16 aligned once with each row effectively removes the mud, as will be evident from inspection of Fig. 3. If the cleats C are unusually closely spaced on the shoe sole, or if the tool is drawn in a direction at an acute angle to the alignment of the rows of teeth, the side-slipping of the tool, caused by engagement of its roof shaped surfaces 19 and 20 with the cleat flanges 13, will nevertheless enable the tool to pass through the rows of teeth and effect a thorough cleaning operation. The edges 21 and 22 may be employed for scraping mud from the lateral edges of the soles of the shoes, with the juncture of such side edges and the soles placed in the notch between the edges 21 or 22 and the adjacent angled wall of the half notch 17 or 18. The angle of the half notch in this connection enables the tool to pass over the flanges 13 of cleats that may be placed close to the edge of the sole. If the sole is very thick, the notch 16 may be engaged with the lower edge of the sole, and the device may then be tilted so that the sloping portion of the roof-like end 19 or 20 adjacent thereto lies flat against the edge of the sole for scraping the same, and this mode of scraping is particularly effective for cleaning the faces of the heel of the shoe, which is usually of greater thickness than the sole. The edges 21 and 22 are also of an appropriate length for cleaning the front face of the heel Where it joins the sole. The tips 23 and 24 are of appropriate size to enter the wrench hole 14 of a cleat for temporarily tightening the cleat, if it becomes loose during play. Such tip 23 or 24 and the adjacent straight and curved edges 22 and 26 are also adapted for cleaning mud from the welt groove of a golf shoe when the tool is inverted from the position shown in Fig. 1.

In the form shown, the handle portion H has a width of approximately 2 /2 inches and is of approximately equal depth from the finger gripping portion 31 to the blade B of the tool. This construction is advantageous because it completely protects the fingers from contacting the mud on the sole of the shoe and affords a platform element to receive the mud scraped from the sole and cleats so that it can be dumped to one side and does not fall into the hand of the user. The terminal end of the reversely curved portion 31, that forms a finger grip portion underlying said platform element, preferably is itself curled outwardly as shown at 32, and has its corners rounded as at 33, thus protecting the fingers of the golfer from any contact with sharp edges in the use of the tool.

The tool is preferably formed of stainless steel or of sheet metal suitably treated or coated to prevent rusting, and preferably has all edges and surfaces smoothed and polished to form a neat and attractive implement for carrying in the golf bag.

While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the several features of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, and that all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

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I claim:

1. A device for cleaning mud from the soles and cleats of shoes of the type provided with cleats having beveled flanges surrounding their tangs, said device comprising a blade having a scraping end, said scraping end having a notch therein conforming to the tang of a cleat, and having a half notch spaced therefrom along said end by a distance approximating the normal on-center spacing of such flanged cleats, said half notch conforming to one side face and the tip of a cleat tang, the end of the blade between such notch and half notch being roof shaped at angles substantially conforming to the angles defined by the beveled faces of the flanges of the cleats.

2. A device according to claim 1 having two of said half notches complementary to each other and similarly spaced at the opposite sides of said notch, and having the end of the blade similarly shaped between said notch and each of said two half notches.

3. A device according to claim 1, said half notch having its inner end terminating in line with the inner end of said notch, and said blade having a straight edge of substantial length following said line beyond said half notch.

4. A device according to claim 3, said last named edge terminating in a prong projecting laterally of said blade.

5. A device according to claim 4, said prong being defined by said last named edge and an adjacent curved edge of said blade, and having a rounded tip.

6. A device according to claim 1 further comprising a platform element connected to said blade, spaced from said notch and half notch and extending at approximately right angles to the plane of said blade and a finger grip portion at the end of said platform element remote from said blade and overlying the side of the platform element opposite to that from which the blade projects.

7. A device for cleaning mud from the soles and cleats of shoes of the type provided with cleats having beveled flanges surrounding their tangs, said device comprising a blade portion having a scraping end, said scraping end having a center notch shaped to conform to the tang of a cleat and having complementary half notches at opposite sides of said center notch, said half notches each conforming to one side face and the tip of a cleat tang and being spaced from said notch along said end by distances approximating the on-center spacing of said cleats, said blade having roof shaped edges between said notch and half notches sloped at angles substantially conforming to the angles defined by the beveled faces of the flanges of said cleats and for guiding said center notch into alignment with a tang of a cleat, a platform portion extending approximately at right angles from said blade portion in spaced relation to the inner ends of said notch and half notches, and a reversely curved portion at the end of said platform portion remote from said blade, said reversely curved portion overlying the side of said platform opposite to that from which said blade extends and constituting a finger grip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,239,688 Harris Sept. 11, 1917 1,251,321 Apted Dec. 25, 1917 1,608,420 Perry Nov. 23, 1926 2,068,001 Barnes Jan. 19, 1937 2,461,639 Grigalunas Feb. 15, 1949 2,652,582 McCroba Sept. 22, 1953 

